Millions of years ago, two divine creatures—the Protector of Light and the Overlord of Darkness—were the sole occupants of a remote corner of the universe. Waging an eternal war, they blasted each other with powerful rays, which collided between them and formed Talus Scree, an island-covered planet full of magical rocks.

The battling gods did not have time to watch over Talus Scree, so they made children. The Protector created the Angel of Beauty, and the Overlord created the Gremlin of Mischief. These minor gods fought constantly, trying to spread good and evil throughout the tropical planet.

The Gremlin of Mischief created the first mortal beings on Talus Scree, hairy giants who were unfriendly and distrustful. These colossal creatures immediately collected the rarest, most powerful rocks on the planet and hid them away in an enchanted treasure chest, afraid of what would happen if they fell into the wrong hands. They trained a titanic monster to guard the chest for eternity, one that could defy even the gods. Thus the Lost Treasure of Talus Scree was created.

Once the treasure was hidden away, the giants scrambled to find the remaining magical rocks. They fought furiously to control them, creating a society of constant warfare. Most of the enchanted rocks on Talus Scree were used up during this Era of Magic that lasted a million years.

After the giants drove themselves to extinction, the Great Period of Peace began. This too lasted a million years, ending only very recently. During this era, the Angel of Beauty created humans, who spread across the islands like mawkishberry pollen on the wind. For most of human history the Gremlin of Mischief and the Angel of Beauty were evenly matched. The ultimate rocks were safely hidden away, so the gods could not use them to tilt the balance of power.

But the Great Period of Peace finally ended and the Era of Terror began. The Gremlin of Mischief overtook Talus Scree as swiftly as darkness consumes the night sky. He built a towering fortress on Misty Island, enslaved all the villagers there, and forced them to dig for the long-lost treasure. Nobody knew why the terror had begun or when it would end …